The pivotal role of the Philippine press in the nation’s history is a point of pride among journalists. The newspaper La Solidaridad, published in Spain and distributed to intellectual reformers in the Philippines, was a mouthpiece for revolutionary sentiment against the Spanish at the end of the 19th century. One of its principal contributors, the author and national hero José Rizal, was executed by the Spanish in 1896 for being the intellectual inspiration for the independence movement.